Jaguar Land Rover, the UK's leading manufacturer of premium luxury vehicles, today confirms its best ever global sales performance, with retail sales up 30% following strong market performances from the UK, China and the U.S.

Jaguar Land Rover has also confirmed that it will create up to 800 new jobs at its advanced manufacturing facility in Solihull, UK, to support the introduction of new model programs throughout 2013.

Jaguar Land Rover sells over 355,000 vehicles in 2012

In 2012, Jaguar Land Rover sales (357,773 vehicles) were up in every major market due to new model introductions and update programs.

China is now Jaguar Land Rover's largest market delivering its best ever sales performance in 2012 (71,940, up 71%). It is followed by the UK (68,333 up 19%), USA (55,675, up 11%), Russia (20,549, up 43%) and Germany (16,722 up 41%).

At the North American International Motor Show in Detroit, Phil Popham, Jaguar Land Rover's Director of Group Sales Operations said, "2012 has been a strong year for Jaguar Land Rover with record breaking sales performance globally. All of our key markets saw strong progress, with demand for our premium vehicles setting new records in a very competitive environment.

"Looking ahead to 2013, we are continuing to invest in our business to support our ambitious plans for growth and we will be introducing eight new or refreshed products throughout the year."

Record breaking year for Land Rover in 2012

In 2012, Land Rover delivered a very strong performance in its 177 markets with retail sales up 36% globally. The brand's top five markets were China, the UK, United States, Russia and Italy which accounted for 65% of sales alone. Notable product performances were delivered by the Range Rover Evoque with 108,598 vehicles sold in its first full year of sales – more than any other previous Land Rover model. Land Rover has also seen strong performances from its Land Rover Discovery 4/LR4 (up 3%), Range Rover Sport (up 4%) and first deliveries of the all-new Range Rover have now commenced.

Commenting on Land Rover's sales performance, Global Brand Director John Edwards said, "2012 was an excellent year for Land Rover; we delivered a powerful global performance throughout the year across all markets, with the highlight being that we have sold more vehicles this year than ever before in our 65 year history. Our updated model line-up and the debut of the new Range Rover have created a real buzz around the brand with customers clearly delighted with our offerings."

Jaguar sales increase

Jaguar's sales for the year were up 6% compared to 2011. The launch of the XF 2.2 Diesel, XF and XJ 3.0 litre powertrains and the introduction of various new derivatives including the XF Sportbrake has widened the brand's portfolio and geographic reach. The brand's top five markets were the UK, United States, China, Germany and Russia which combined equated to 71% of sales for the year. The XF continues to do very well with sales globally up 13% and the introduction of the new XJ and XF All Wheel Drive have been well received internationally, particularly in the U.S.

Commenting on Jaguar's sales performance, Global Brand Director Adrian Hallmark said, "This year saw the completion of a revitalised Jaguar line-up. We now have a very strong desirable range of products which are clearly capturing the public's imagination. We plan to continue growing in 2013 with the stunning new F-TYPE."

New jobs created to support growth

In 2013, Jaguar Land Rover will continue to implement its ambitious plans for growth and has announced a recruitment campaign to create 800 new jobs in the UK to support the introduction of future model programs. More than 200 of these roles are supported by the UK Government's Regional Growth Fund.

The recruitment campaign for production operators is underway at Jaguar Land Rover's advanced manufacturing plant in Solihull, West Midlands.

Jaguar Land Rover has recently confirmed a £370 million ($600million) investment program for its Solihull site which includes the installation of a new aluminium body shop for the all-new Range Rover as well as upgrades to paint-applications technologies, trim assembly, warehousing and Jaguar Land Rover's first customer handover centre.

In the last two years, Jaguar Land Rover has embarked on the most ambitious recruitment campaign in the company's history, hiring 8,000 people. It now employs 25,000 people globally.

Jaguar Land Rover has ambitious plans for sustainable growth and profitability.

Jaguar Land Rover will invest circa £2bn in its products and facilities in the financial year to March 2013.

Jaguar Land Rover is building a state of the art advanced engine facility at i54 South Staffordshire Business Park investing £355m and creating 750 new jobs. Construction commenced on 20thJune 2012 and is on-going.

Jaguar Land Rover makes a significant contribution to the UK economy contributing £7bn GVA in the last financial year.

One of the UK's largest exporters by value (£8.2bn in 2011) and generates in the region of 85% of its revenue from exports.

12 months to 31 March 2012, Jaguar Land Rover generated profit before tax of £1.5bn with revenues of £13.5bn

Jaguar Land Rover is working on plans to extend its global production footprint, particularly in India and China.

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